Cross Country 

Last Thursday, the Kingswood Cross Country team took journeyed to Bryanston to take part in the 63rd Ken Bailey races. Against large fields of runners there were some superb efforts, particularly from the younger year groups. Tom was the pick of the bunch coming in 5th, closely followed by George in 7th. Bea ran superbly for the Inter Girls, while Oscar showed true grit in the Inter Boys. The run of the day, though, came from Max who stepped up to the Senior Boys team and ran superbly in the sunshine.
There were similarly glorious conditions last Saturday morning in Bristol for the Avon County Championships, where we had superb representation, particularly in the Junior Boys and Senior Girls race. In the Junior Boys, Ferdie and Theo ran strongly against a high class field where Charlie battled from start to finish with a dramatic 2nd place, while in the Senior Girls, Grace got the better of Emily, Evie and Tobina to see the girls finish 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th. 

Football

Football was back on the Kingswood sporting calendar as the 1st XI played a game for the first time since February 2020. With a completely new look team and only a couple of training sessions so far, the team took a little while to settle and get fully used to playing with one another, but by the second half they started to play some good football. Jake looked very assured in the centre of defence and Oscar was a constant threat up front. Some solid defence from Rex throughout the game and a couple of very good saves form Ted tipping over the bar both times ensured we did not concede. Unfortunately, we could not make the most of the chances we created in the second half as with more clinical finishing, we would have won comfortably. As such, the final score was 0-0, but it was good to get our season underway with a clean sheet. The 1st and 2nd teams travel to Wycliffe this week before a home fixture for both teams against Prior Park in the first week of February. 

Netball

Last week the Netball Club had twenty fixtures against King’s Bruton, Bryanston and Clifton College Prep.
Last Thursday, the Seniors enjoyed a block against King’s Bruton and the 1sts, 2nds and 3rds all had strong wins with Nancy, Lily and Ciara all being pick of the players.
Last Saturday, we drew the block against Bryanston with 4 wins each and 2 draws. The 1st VII cemented another strong win against Bryanston and they were on fine form with their timing, ball speed and shooting stats. Bella held with confidence and Co-Captain Annie  timing in defence was outstanding. The 3rds won 25-13 and Grace contributed well with her determination and fantastic reactions in the opposition’s D, denying many shots at goal.
The Juniors played Clifton Prep and they won the block 3-5 with the U12As only losing by one goal. The U13Bs pulled away with an 18-3 win and the U13Cs were on incredible form converting a number of goals against their opposition and highlighting Harriet and Florence accuracy. Team of the Week are the U12Bs where Gracie and Molly worked with and around each other to keep the goals coming – Freya adding to the total in the final quarter. There was strong defence from Isla, Sophia and Melissa throughout. Well done to the mighty 12Bs who won 15-2.
We wish the 1st VII good luck as they prepare for the Regional Finals this Saturday in Bournemouth. 

Hockey

It was another great week for our Hockey teams last week as they won every game of the block fixture against Prior Park. The 1st XI match was played as the second round of the National Cup and was a very tightly fought affair between two teams boasting England internationals. Rob was a key figure as Kingswood forged a lead, but Tom in goal was Man of the Match as he made some excellent saves in a second half period when Prior Park created a number of chances. In the other senior matches, Ted and Jamie both shone for their respective teams.
Of our younger teams, the U14Bs managed another 8-0 win with Jack scoring 5 and Harry impressing with his distribution from the back. The U13As got their season up and running with a 7-0 win and it was great to watch the matches between some of our U12 teams and the Year 6 teams from KPS.
Team of the Week are the U15As, however, who beat a Prior Park team that they had lost to in both of their previous meetings. Prior Park had better chances in the first half but George made some important saves. However, in the second half, Wills, Archie, Owen and Noah took control of the midfield battle against some talented opponents and the team as a whole began to play with much more fluency, dominating territory and possession. Man of the Match Ollie worked really hard up front and was rewarded with two goals before Archie sealed the 3-0 win from a very well worked penalty corner routine.